Haunted by the Past
by Ataraninja
Summary: Sakura was in the eighth grade when it happened. Walking home at night, she is caught off guard when a man attacks her from the shadows. She is emotionally scarred and her outlook on men changed...until her senior year of high school when HE arrives.
1. Chapter 1, That Night

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

_AU, Sakura was in the eighth grade when it happened. Her parents away, she walks to her house alone in the dark and a man jumps her from the shadows, rapes her, and then leaves her broken to suffer the pain for the rest of her life. _

**A/N: Here's a new story for you guys, hope you enjoy!**

Sakura screamed as the man forced her down onto the floor. Everything was dark and she couldn't see his face. She reached out with her hands, trying to find his face, hoping desperately that she could sink her fingernails into his skin before he could get what he wanted. As she found his face, she realized she was too late.

She could feel it, right outside of her body, searching for the opening. He found it, but then her underwear got in his way. She took that opportunity to scratch at his face. At that second, she cursed herself for ever biting her nails. They were short and didn't do too much damage to the man's slender face. She felt glasses and she pulled them off of him and flung them across the floor.

The man grabbed her by her arms, picked her up, and then slammed her onto the floor, causing her to lose her breath. She suddenly felt dizzy and she lost her strength. Not even six years of varsity basketball could have prepared her for a fight like this.

The man seemed to smile as Sakura's body went limp beneath him. He ripped her panties off of her and without hesitation, penetrated her. Sakura's screams seemed to fade into the darkness as the pain hit her hard. She could feel herself bleeding but nothing she did would stop it.

The "Shadow Man" kept moving inside of her and soon Sakura felt herself crying. She could not move, she was too dizzy. The tears covered her face while the blood covered her skirt and the floor. She finally just closed her eyes and prayed for him to stop as that was all she had left to do.

It didn't take long and the man let out a groan of pleasure. Sakura felt his juices shoot up inside of her and she gritted her teeth. This made her feel so dirty. She was defiled, unvirginized, and for what? Some stranger that assaulted her in the darkness.

His pleasures satisfied, the man got up from the floor, zipped up his pants, and then ran out of the house. Sakura watched as he left and when he opened the door, the moonlight illuminated what appeared to be long, light-colored hair pulled back in a ponytail.

That was all she remembered before her whole world went black. The shock of being raped, the pain in her abdomen and her back from her rapist all mounted up into one big blackout that was much needed to forget about what had just happened.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Someone was banging on the door to Sakura's house with their fist. Sakura, still unconscious, was slowly coming out of her daze. The world spun around her and sunlight began to filter into her world.

Suddenly, the front door swung open. Apparently, the person that was looking for her had just realized it was unlocked.

A girl screamed, a door slammed shut, and the next thing Sakura knew, a blonde head was looking over her exhausted and beaten body.

"Sakura, are you okay? Oh my God, I've got to call 911!" Ino exclaimed as she picked Sakura up into her arms. She reached for her phone with her free hand but Sakura groaned something incoherent that stopped her from dialing.

"No,...don't Ino...," Sakura said, a little more understandable this time.

"Sakura, why not? There's blood everywhere, are you sure you're not hurt? I _really_ think I should call 911, Sakura, please...," Ino begged. She looked down at Sakura's blood-stained miniskirt and almost puked.

"No, just...get me...to the bathroom," Sakura said, trying to raise her hand to point toward the bathroom.

"O-okay, Sakura..." Ino began to lift Sakura from the floor and was even more disgusted when more blood dripped out from between Sakura's legs. She quickly walked her over to the bathroom.

She set her down on the toilet while she turned on the water to fill up the bathtub. She used all of her strength to lift Sakura up and began to take off her sweaty, soiled clothes. Once Sakura was completely naked, Ino cautiously carried her over to the tub and helped her in gently.

"Okay Sakura, you get cleaned up and I'm going to go clean up the mess in the living room, okay?" Ino said calmly as her friend began trying to wash herself.

In a few minutes, Ino returned, tired from frantically cleaning the mess that Sakura had left. She looked at Sakura in the tub and smiled sympathetically. She had fallen asleep, still bloody and sweaty.

Ino grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet and wet it in the bath water, then put some soap on it. She woke Sakura up so that she would not be shocked when Ino started bathing her. The blonde tried to ignore her friend's nakedness while she washed her body but found that a difficult task.

To distract herself, she began to question Sakura as to what happened. "Sakura, what's the last thing you remember before you passed out on the floor?" she asked, taking a guess that she _had _indeed passed out.

"A man...I don't know who...he...he attacked me as I unlocked the door to the house. It was dark...he pushed me to the ground...and...he used his weight to hold me down," Sakura said, sniffling as she tried to tell her friend the story.

Ino continued washing but gasped at Sakura's description of the attack. She knew what happened now. The blood, the sweat, all of it made sense to Ino now. She suddenly felt sorry for her friend.

Although she was not a virgin herself, she knew that Sakura had always cherished that fact. She'd always said that she would save herself for the _one_ man that would be hers forever. Ino had not been as pure, but she'd never experienced what Sakura just had. Oh, she remembered the pain of her first time...but she'd _wanted_ it. Sakura hadn't.

Ino had almost finshed washing Sakura. Now all that was left was the worst part, the part that she knew well was hurting the worst. "Here Sakura, you finish," she said nervously. "I-I don't want to hurt you."

Sakura was still too much in a daze to realize that she hadn't said, "I'm uncomfortable touching you there." She simply took the soapy rag from Ino and began to wash. She winced in pain as the rag washed over her sensitive parts. Ino watched with pity as Sakura almost cried just from the pain of touching that area of her body.

A few minutes later, Sakura was dressed in her pajamas, and lying on her bed. Ino laid beside her cradling her in her arms. Every now and then Sakura would sob and Ino would just rock her and draw her closer.

"Ino..." Sakura started.

"Yes, Sakura?" Ino asked her gently.

"Why me?" Sakura said, her voice serious.

Ino was disappointed to say that she did not have the answer to Sakura's question. "I don't know Sakura. Things like this...they can happen to anyone."

"It doesn't feel that way. It feels like...he did it on purpose." Sakura was on the verge of crying again now.

Ino started rocking her in her arms again, trying to comfort her. "It probably wasn't that, Sakura. You were just...alone and...vulnerable. He would have done the same thing to me in your shoes."

"I guess so...," Sakura whispered, although she still didn't believe her. "Ino?" she said after a short silence.

"Hm?"

"Please don't tell anyone else about this."

"Okay Sakura, I won't. I promise," Ino said, a tear forming in the corner of her eye as she hugged her friend again.

-End-


	2. Chapter 2, New Beginnings

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

_AU, Sakura was in the eighth grade when it happened. Her parents away, she walks to her house alone in the dark and a man jumps her from the shadows, rapes her, and then leaves her broken to suffer the pain for the rest of her life. _

**A/N: Chapter 2, up!**

It had been three years since the day her life changed. She looked around at her classmates, juniors, excited because the seniors graduated today and that meant they moved up. They would "rule the school" supposedly.

Sakura had no intention of "ruling" anything. Not school, not people, or just anything. She preferred to stay invisible. Things were...easier that way. No, easier wasn't the word. In fact, she wished she could be as outgoing as her friend Ino, or TenTen, who had been the most popular senior on campus. No, things weren't _easier_ for Sakura. They were anything but that. The truth was: being invisible was being safe, and Sakura liked safe.

Of course, she hadn't always been that way. Looking at Naruto and Kiba goofing off reminded her of how she had been.

_In junior high..._

_No one was _totally_ wild back then, well okay, they were pretty close. And Sakura and her BFFL Ino were the wildest of them all, or out of the girls at least._

_They went to everyone's parties, showed skin like "nude" was the new fashion, and didn't care whose feelings they hurt with their "mean girl" ways._

_Sakura was the better of the two, of course. Ino had lost her virginity by the sixth grade to some Shikamaru guy, who apparently fell asleep during the act. Sakura, back then, was "The Tease." You know, that girl that everyone wants but no one can have? Yea, that was her._

_And it wasn't that she was taken or that she was super-religious _(A/N I wouldn't know anything about that. 0.0)_ but she just wasn't "skanky." She told Ino one day that she "was going to wait for the right guy so that when he got her, he would have a special gift in her, someone that was untouched."_

_So, Ino had _almost_ given up on hooking her up with anyone, until the eighth grade, when this new guy, Kabuto came to their school. He was a jock, but a shy one. Sakura thought he was cute, but she had no thoughts of him being, "The One." Ino, however, still tried her best to hook the two up._

_She finally convinced Sakura to accept Kabuto's date proposal and on the second date, he tried to _screw_ her. Sakura, being the clean virgin she was, was outraged and slapped him in the face, swearing that she would _never_ sleep with someone that was so brazen._

_After that, Kabuto didn't speak to her. He always ignored her and talked about her behind her back, trying to get her angry or desperate enough to break down and give him what he wanted. She never did._

_But then, "That Night" happened, and Sakura changed. She skipped school for a week after that happened and when she came back, everything was different. Her clothes, her hair, her makeup, her personality, everything._

_Naruto had been her best friend. Their relationship was platonic of course, for he liked Hinata and unbeknownst to him, she liked him too. They were very close and therefore Sakura knew All of his secrets, and well, he knew all of hers...until now. _

_There was no way she would tell him. Ino found out by accident, her being the one to walk in on Sakura after it had happened, the evidence still there. Knowing that she would not be able to resist those gorgeous blue eyes of his, she decided that, it would hurt, but she had to tell him goodbye. She stopped hanging out with him after that._

_In fact, she stopped hanging out with every guy she knew, because she was afraid of them. What if one of her so-called friends had been her rapist? She couldn't be sure and so she just avoided men altogether._

_So the only people that knew her secret were she and Ino. Hinata, another female best friend, did not even know, and although she could feel something different, Sakura knew, she never questioned Sakura's motives or her past._

Sakura looked at her ex-blonde friend with a longing in her eyes. He'd always been _so_ sweet. He made her smile on the worst of days and made her feel loved even when everyone else seemed to hate her. Of course, as mentioned before, their relationship was _purely_ platonic. He was like a brother to her, or even, just "One of the Girls" not in the weird way of course.

That's when she decided it. No matter what memories still haunted her dreams, no matter what secrets she wanted kept, today she would renew her friendship with Naruto, even if it killed her.

She took a deep breath and then stood from the bench she'd been sitting on, walked across the grass and behind Naruto and then gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"So where are we going again?" the dark-haired boy asked his mom for about the fifth time since their drive had begun. It was unlike him to pester her this much. Normally, he just went with whatever it was but she had a good idea that she knew what had him so "questionny."

Back home, were his father and brother. Their divorce settled, his parents had decided that each could take one of the children and that one would move away. Mikoto had chosen the youngest, who agreed seeing as how he and his father argued constantly, and she had also chosen to be the one to leave.

But being separate from his family was not what had her son so annoyed. It was his friends. And not just any friend, his girlfriend. Red hair, dark crimson eyes, perfect figure, and charming demeanor, yes, Mikoto knew her very well. In fact, she was at their house almost all the time. She was surprised that this girl could put up with her son and his _quietness_, but she did.

Personally, she did not like the girl. She was a little _too_ flirty to be anything good for _her_ son, and she'd heard that she even had tendencies to check out girls, or whatever the young people called it these days.

So, _she_ had no problems getting her son away from that girl, but he thought otherwise.

So, here they were: driving to this new place that she _still_ refused to explain to the teen in the seat beside her and he sulked in his little corner of the vehicle, thinking about his girlfriend, no doubt. She smirked, knowing that the wait was killing him and knowing even more so, that missing his girlfriend was killing him. Mikoto was quite pleased with herself for being _such_ a great mastermind.

-End-

**A/N: Mwuahahahahaha! I left you guys hanging on Sakura and Naruto right? Yea that's what I thought. Anyways review please! I'm going to bed! Haha. Seriously, I am though. I'm tired. And I need to gather my thoughts, don't patronize me!**

**Luz u guys, REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3, Last and First Days

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

_AU, Sakura was in the eighth grade when it happened. Her parents away, she walks to her house alone in the dark and a man jumps her from the shadows, rapes her, and then leaves her broken to suffer the pain for the rest of her life. _

**A/N: Chapter 3! Thanks to princess-dq, twilight-twins2, and Midnight Saphire for being my first readers to add this story to their alerts. Your reviews were much appreciated also. As promised, here is Ch.3 of HBP. Enjoy!**

"So you have to like, text me every day and on Fridays, we can all go out to the movies or something! This summer is going to be awesome!" Ino said.

Her mood had visibly brightened since learning that Sakura and Naruto were now friends again. She'd pulled them into a giant bearhug upon finding out, you know one of those where no one can breathe except the hug-giver.

Now, it was time for them to leave the school for the final time before Summer began. (Same day as last chapter, just later on) Most of the other people were in tears, but these four were not. Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and now, Naruto were happy.

Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji all stood in a huddle nearby, watching their other three friends say their goodbyes. Sakura did not count any more, not after she'd ignored them for three years. They were not mad at her, however, just they felt left out.

"Maybe we should talk to them," Chouji said as he munched on a bag of Salt&Vinegar chips (a/n they're my favorite. :D)

"Nope. Too troublesome," said (well you can probably guess who) Shikamaru.

"Naruto's over there. Maybe Sakura's not PMS-ing anymore," Kiba said, loudly enough that Sakura probably heard him.

'crickets chirping', said Shino. (IOW, he is silent)

Shikamaru shrugged and then the four of them walked over to their other friends to say goodbye.

Sakura froze as the group of guys came over to where she and the others stood. "I...um, have to go. See you guys later!" she said to Ino, Hinata, and Naruto before the other guys could even get to them.

She rushed away from the group and headed towards the bathroom, to wait until the buses got there. She'd be glad when she got a car. As she rushed into the lobby of the cafeteria where the bathrooms were she ran smack into a tall, muscular guy with grey hair, and steely eyes.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, long time no see," he sneered at his ex-girlfriend from junior high.

Sakura gasped as she pushed herself off of him and then walked around him to go into the bathroom. She knew it was rude to ignore him, but something about him just gave her the creeps. It couldn't have anything to do with the way their relationship had ended three years ago. No way.

Sakura ran into the bathroom, went to the nearest (and cleanest) stall and shut herself in. She held her phone in her hand, waiting for 3:00 to get here, all the while thinking about the cold chills that ran down her spine when Kabuto spoke to her.

Finally, after three hours of driving, the city limit sign was in sight. Mikoto looked over at her son. After an hour of pestering her about where they were going, he'd become silent and after a while, she heard him snoring lightly.

So that left us where we are now, Mikoto driving, and her son, covering the side of the car in drool. "Sasuke-kun, wake up..," she cooed in a motherly voice.

Her son, Sasuke, grumbled and began to stir. He opened his eyes as he sat up, looking at their surroundings and all he saw was...green. Lots and lots of green, but not just that: it was sunny. This place was definitely different that their old home, and its dense forests and constant rain. But Sasuke had always liked the rain, so he peered out the window, searching for a promising raincloud. When he found none, he returned to pouting.

"So...where exactly are we?" he asked, trying to hide his curiosity with a level voice.

"Konoha, land of the trees," she said, with a mixture of seriousness and mockery. So I guess you'd say she was "seriously mocking."

Sasuke, however, didn't find her humor all that humorous. "Hn."

After a moment of silence, he finally said, "So why exactly did we have to move three hours away from home?"

"This was the best place within ten hours, so there," Mikoto said, although not very convincing.

Sasuke knew that the only reason she'd gone so far away was to get him away from Karin. In truth, she'd never liked his girlfriend, and she showed no signs of _ever_ liking her. Of course, the feeling had been mutual.

Sasuke's mother held Karin's past against her. Karin was not necessarily the purest or the most innocent of girls, Sasuke would vouch for that, but she'd changed...honestly. She used to date multiple guys at once and she'd slept with more than she could count on both of her hands, but Sasuke had fallen for her, and after a year of her staying true and pure, he'd begun to believe that she truly had changed.

His mother was just in denial, and there was no way that it was the opposite. Sasuke couldn't possibly be in denial. That's what _he _claimed anyway.

"Sure," Sasuke said, realizing how long he'd let his mom wait for an answer. "One last thing: Why couldn't we have waited until summer was over to move here?"

"Well, I figured you'd want to make some friends before the school year started," Mikoto explained cooly.

"Hn."

-End-

**A/N: I know this is short but I had nowhere else to go and I wanted to update today since I did kinda promise it to you guys. I'm trying to figure out where to go with Sakura's part. The next chap will probably be a timeskip to the first day of school, or at least the last week of summer vacation or something. Yea so anyways, REVIEW, and goodnight!**


	4. Chapter 4, Movies and Meetings

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

_AU, Sakura was in the eighth grade when it happened. Her parents away, she walks to her house alone in the dark and a man jumps her from the shadows, rapes her, and then leaves her broken to suffer the pain for the rest of her life. _

**A/N: Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapters. All suggestions have been taken into account, and I'm sure that everyone will LOVE the twist that I'm planning. Of course, before we get to that, we have to stuff this sandwich with meat, so here's Chapter 4! Ham! jk**

Just as Ino had planned, she, Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto had spent every Friday together that summer. Now it was the last full week of summer vacation, and Sakura was beginning to get the blues.

"Ino, why did the summer have to go by so fast?" she groaned to her best friend, who sat on her bed, painting her toenails.

"I don't know. I guess that's because it always does," she said as she continued to focus on not making any stray purple marks on her skin.

"I don't want to go back," Sakura whispered. Ino stopped her painting and looked at Sakura's face. She was looking down at her lap as if remembering.

"You think it was someone from school?" Ino asked. They'd never talked much about the subject because of Sakura's sensitivity to that life-changing event.

She nodded her head, then looked over at her dresser. "I have a theory, but in truth it could have been anyone," she said as calmly as she could.

"Well, what's your theory?" Ino asked, closing up the bottle of polish.

"Um...well...you know I was dating Kabuto right before it happened right?" Sakura started.

"Uh-huh..."

"And I didn't have sex with him even though he'd wanted me to..."

"Uh-huh..."

"Well, on the last day of school, I ran into him and he just...he made me feel...weird."

"Uh-huh..."

"I'm finished, Ino." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Oh sorry. So, you think it's Kabuto?" Ino asked, apparently in thought.

"Well, I won't say for sure that it was him, but he's the only lead I have," Sakura said, trying to dismiss the eerie thoughts in her head.

"Hm...So what should we do? We have to find out for sure Sakura. If not, you will keep blaming every other guy for what he did."

"I don't blame every other guy!" Sakura protested.

"Then why do you run away when any guy other than Naruto comes near you?" Ino said, knowing that she'd won.

"Because...they...they make me nervous," she lied, sort of.

"Kiba makes you nervous? What, that he's going to tell another corny joke? Shikamaru? All he ever wants to do is sleep. Shino's too quiet, and all Chouji does is eat all the time. They are our friends Sakura, but you are too worried that they could have been the one to hurt you, that you ignore them."

Sakura was silent, because she knew that Ino was right. Her "friends" were just that, and she had abandoned them because of what some stranger did to her. None of them would have hurt her but she was afraid. Afraid of getting hurt again. Afraid that they were the ones that did that. Afraid of men in general.

"Come on. Let's get out and have some fun!" Ino said as she dialed some numbers on her phone. Sakura groaned, knowing what was coming. Fun Fridays!

Sasuke grabbed the keys to his car and began to walk out of the house but his mother stopped him. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To the movies."

"Oh okay. Well have fun and _talk to people_!" his mother said with a giggle. She loved to pester her son about his un-social life.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he walked out of the house. As he got to his car, his cell phone rang. Sasuke smirked when he saw the caller ID. "Hey babe," he said in a deep, seductive voice.

"Yeah! So what movie are we going to watch?" Naruto asked excitedly as he looked at the list of movies playing.

"Ooo...Let's watch Eclipse!" Ino said with a devious look on her face.

"Hehe...you're only saying that because of-" Hinata started before Ino put her hand on her mouth to shut her up.

"Jacob," Sakura finished. Ino glared at her.

"Eww! We are _so_ not watching a movie where Ino is drooling over 'hot' guys the entire time!" Naruto proclaimed, making the accent marks with his hands when he said _hot_.

...30 minutes later...

Ino is drooling, Naruto is pouting. "Why am I the only guy in the group?" he grumbled. All three girls had outnumbered him when it came down to the vote. Turns out Ino wasn't the only one that liked werewolves.

"Could be worse...you could be alone," a deep voice said from somewhere behind him.

Naruto visibly jumped and turned around looking for the culprit. When he saw no one suspicious, he whispered, "Jesus? Is that you?"

Someone behind him chuckled quietly. "No, you idiot. It was me," a black haired guy said from behind him as a pale hand reached out from the darkness.

Naruto turned around, looked at the person and then shook his hand. "Oh. Hehe, that's embarrassing. My name is Naruto by the way, and you are," he said introducing himself, despite the people complaining about the distraction during the movie.

"Sasuke, nice to meet you," the black-haired guy said as he looked away from Naruto and to the girls that sat around him. He smirked and then said in a sly voice, "Dude, I'm so jealous."

"What do you-Oh," Naruto said as it hit him what Sasuke was implying. "No, no it's not like that. Only one of them is my girlfriend." He was digging himself in a deeper hole.

"And the other two are?"

"Ack! They are just friends, man I'm terrible at this," Naruto said, putting his hands on his head in panic.

At just that moment, Sakura turned around and looked at the guy sitting behind Naruto. She gasped and then turned back around quickly. A blush was rapidly spreading across her face and she would do anything to make it go away.

He was _hot!_ Long black hair that stood out in spikes with bangs that framed his face, dark, mysterious eyes, pale skin. It was like one of the vampires had pulled itself off the big screen and landed in the seat behind her friend. Edward had _nothing_ on this guy. In fact, neither did Jacob.

She chanced another glance at the mysterious stranger and immediately regretted it. He was looking straight at her, his eyes...intrigued perhaps.

Then she heard him ask Naruto, "Who's she?" His voice, so silky smooth, yet deep and masculine. He was a dream...Sakura pinched herself...nope, not a dream.

"Oh, this is Sakura, my _friend_. And the blonde beside her that's too interested in the movie to notice us is Ino, Sakura's BFF. And this is Hinata, my girlfriend and the most beautiful girl in the _world_," Naruto explained in a smooth voice, describing each and every one of the girls. Sakura figured that she must have missed something. He winked at Hinata, who had looked at him curiously.

"Cool," Sasuke said still looking at Sakura. In the darkness, he couldn't tell what color her hair was. Red, blonde maybe? It was light-colored, long, and slightly wavy. Her eyes, a dark color, seemed shy and troubled. She was pale complected compared to her friend who sported a suntan. She appeared to have a small frame, curves included, but she still had an attractive air about her.

He stopped himself. Why was he examining this girl so much? He _had_ a girlfriend, and one that _wasn't_ lacking on the curves front. She had the prettiest red hair, dark reddish-brown eyes, long eyelashes, a perfect profile and slightly tanned complexion. She wore clothing that made Sasuke's body ache as did every other guy she crossed paths with. Sasuke had always been the one protecting her from guys that would have "taken advantage of" her. Or at least, he thought they would take advantage of her.

The point was, he shouldn't be looking at this girl that was a complete stranger to him. He felt as though he was betraying Karin by even thinking about her, so he pulled his eyes away from her and focused back on the movie, trying to stop thinking about the shy girl in front of him.

-End-

**A/N: Okay, I'm stopping there just because I needed to update and I didn't want to make the chapter longer. Plus I'm tired. Sorry it took so long. I've been playing on my Nintendo DS for the past few days. Got hooked, couldn't stop. But I updated, so please review! Your reviews are what make me keep writing this story. Fewer reviews, lower priority. So REVIEW IF YOU LIKE HBP!**


	5. Chapter 5, Poems

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

_AU, Sakura was in the eighth grade when it happened. Her parents away, she walks to her house alone in the dark and a man jumps her from the shadows, rapes her, and then leaves her broken to suffer the pain for the rest of her life. _

**A/N: Okay, next chapter. So, given her past I know it may **_**seem**_** like Sakura is OOC but she really isn't. Sasuke doesn't know that she thinks he's hot and Sakura will make sure it stays that way. Ino, meanwhile is trying to mend her friend's broken heart from the tragedy of four years past. Will she succeed? You have to read to find out!**

It had been three weeks now since the start of school. Sakura was hiding her feelings from Sasuke and unknown to her, so was he. Sasuke had told Naruto about him dating a girl called Karin back home and Naruto wasn't pestering him about dating now. The two had surprisingly enough become the best of friends.

Sakura had over half of her classes with Sasuke and even though she'd sworn to herself not to get to close to him, she couldn't help socializing with the alluring dark-haired Uchiha. If nothing else, he was a nice guy and he _did_ make her feel safe from the other guys.

So, today was like any other school day, a Friday, and only one hour away from being finished. Sakura watched the clock as her English class seemed to drag on. They were studying poetry in class and today was the assignment day.

"_Write a poem expressing deep feelings. Any feelings will do, just as long as it's clean but emotional. This assignment is due Monday."_ That's what Ms. Shizune had said just five minutes earlier and right now, Sakura was struggling to think of a single line to write.

"What's the matter Sakura?" Sasuke asked. He'd leaned over in his chair and was looking at her curiously.

Sakura glanced at his paper. He'd almost covered the entire front page with lines. She sighed. "I just...don't have anything I want to write about," she said in a soft voice, not looking straight at his face.

"Nothing? You can't write about an emotional experience you've had in the past? That's what I'm doing."

Sakura gasped, a knot forming in her throat. There they were, the horrible images. The dark house, the stranger on top of her, the pain. She felt a tear slide down her face and she quickly wiped it away.

"Are you okay? I-I'm sorry, Sakura," Sasuke said in a rush.

"N-no, it's not your fault. I...um...I just don't want to write about that, okay?" Sakura said in the lowest voice she could muster.

"Okay, Sakura. Maybe you should write about your friends. You like them, right?" Sasuke said, trying to fix the problem he felt he'd created.

Sakura nodded, but her pen remained still over her paper.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered after turning back to his paper. Sakura looked at him with saddened eyes. She overreacted, like always.

...One hour later...

Sakura walked out of the school building and began walking to her usual hangout spot with Naruto, Ino, and Hinata. They were all sitting under the oak trees on the north side of the schoolyard on the new park benches. Hinata was apparently helping Naruto with homework, while Ino was checking herself out in her pocket mirror.

Sakura was halfway to the park bench when something caught her eye. A streak of pitch black hair flew past her and she immediately realized who it was. Sasuke. But he wasn't heading for the hangout spot, he was instead making a beeline for a dark purple car that was parked right outside the school.

Sakura watched curiously as a girl with long red hair got out of the driver's seat and came around the side of the car. She smiled as Sasuke approached her and then Sasuke, yes stoic, vampire-like Sasuke, picked her up in his arms, twirled her around and then...kissed her!

Sakura was in shock. He hadn't mentioned a girlfriend before. For a moment, she was frozen in place, then she sighed. This made things easier. Now, at least, she would not be tempted to get too close to this guy. The dangers she feared could be avoided with ease now.

She walked over to her friends, content with what she had seen. Perhaps this was how it should be. Burying her feelings of jealousy beneath a stone visage, she sat down between Ino and Naruto, turning her eyes away from the dark-haired boy that was now getting in the car with his...girlfriend.

"My heart is like the weather

One day it's warm, another cold

One day it's raining, another snow

One day it's sunny, another all clouds

But it just serves to shroud

My innermost feelings of love and hate

The one that I want another to blame

Hiding away from the rest of the world

Are the greatest of feelings

That I've left untold

Not wanting to get hurt

Not after a repeat

I lie to myself

And still try to defeat

The truthfulness in my heart

That can only set me free

The truth that I like you

And you don't even know.

This is the truth that I hide

And it's also true that I lied

When I acted like I didn't care

When I saw you standing there

The truth behind the rain

My weathering heart that's scared

I hope you understand

The truth behind the rain."

Sakura finished reading her poem and looked up at her audience. Everyone in the classroom was silent, but mostly him. He looked at her with intrigued eyes. She began to feel nervous and quickly sat down, hiding her face from her classmates.

Ms. Shizune started clapping slowly and then said, "Good job Sakura, I could feel the emotion in that poem. Okay, next is Sasuke Uchiha."

Finally, the weight was lifted from Sakura's shoulders. He'd been staring at her, she knew it, but why she did not know. Did he understand her poem that fully, was she that transparent?

He walked to the front of the class and Sakura chanced a glance at him. He was no longer looking directly at her, he looked down at the paper in his hand, his fist clenching nervously. Sakura saw him look up out of the corner of his eye at her.

He looked down at his paper once more and then laid it to rest by his side. He took a deep breath and then looked at the teacher. "I don't have a poem that I wish to read in front of the class," he said, even though she could see what he held in his hand.

She pointed dumbly at the paper and asked, "Well then, what is that?"

"My assignment but I do not want to read it in front of the class," he said in an equally dumb fashion.

"Okay, but that was part of the rules so you're going to have a letter grade deducted," Ms. Shizune said as she took the paper from Sasuke and he sat down.

Sakura looked at him, confused. She was looking forward to hearing his one-page (or more) poem and yet he'd backed out. Why? She was about to ask when the bell rang.

"Okay class, the rest of you, turn in your papers to me now and tomorrow you will be reading," Ms. Shizune said as she beat the class to the door and held out her hand for the papers as we left.

Sakura rushed out of the class after Sasuke only for him to disappear in the crowd. She huffed irritably. He was avoiding her. That only made her more curious as to why he didn't read his paper. She sighed and then began to trudge to her locker to get her books for her homework that night.

-End-

**A/N: In case you guys didn't know, the poem that Sakura read was one of my very own. I wrote that poem so yes, I do own that! Yay! Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed. The next chapter should be intense, in the emotional SakuSasu way, but that's all you get. For now, Enjoy and Review Please!**


	6. Chapter 6, Stay Faithful

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Going to stop putting the summary on the chapter, that just crowds the page. Anyways, that was my random thought for the day, not so random I know, but Shhh! And Anyways, again, I'm having lots of positive feedback for this story. And I loved getting comments on my writing style. That makes me smile. :D So here ya go! Ur reward, another chapter!**

It had been a week since the awkward English class and he was still avoiding her. She couldn't tell if he was mad, confused or what. Finally, she broke down and asked Naruto what was going on. Naruto pretended not to know why the Uchiha was acting the way he was.

Sakura huffed before walking away from the gawking blonde and locating her best friend. When she found her in their usual section of the schoolyard, she was surprised to find her studying.

Forgetting what she'd come to vent about, she sat down by the blonde and looked at her curiously. "Um...Ino? Is that really you?" Sakura asked dumbly.

"Yes Saku-dear, it's me," she said in her grown-up, motherly tone. Then I noticed where her attention went to for a split second.

I looked across the bench and found a tall boy, probably a senior like us, with light brown hair glancing in Ino's direction. He wore glasses that made him look sophisticated. He was cute, I'd give him that, with what appeared to be baby blue eyes. He was lean and held himself in a way that said he was genius-quality.

I understood it now. I guess that I would let Ino continue her act, and who knows, maybe she would snag the smart guy. Stranger things had happened, like Sasuke not wanting to read his poem in class after hearing mine.

I stood and walked away saying a quiet 'goodbye' to Ino before heading off to go to the bathroom. Anything to pass the time. They'd given us a long end-of-day recess today because of an assembly so we had a good thirty minutes to waste away, and since I didn't have a car, I had no choice but to stay.

I was rounding the corner of the bathroom when, once again, I bumped into someone. _Not again_, I thought as I saw who it was.

"Now, Sakura...you really should watch where you are going. You might run into someone worse than me," he said in a snide voice before that snake walked away. Sakura felt something brush against her backside as he walked past and she felt the chill bumps crawl up her arm.

She quickly turned around and tried to rush into the bathroom but someone grabbed her wrist as she made it to the doorway. She turned around, ready to scream if it was that _snake_ again.

Then, she relaxed a bit. Black hair, dark eyes, dark clothing, it was him. He smirked at her despite the fact that his face appeared troubled.

"W-what is it Sasuke?" Sakura asked, casting a nervous glance to where the silver-haired man had just walked away. Was it a trap? Was Sasuke supposed to trap her so Kabuto could...No! She had to stop this.

"I...wanted to talk to you," he said, glaring out the doors as if he sensed her fear of the silver-haired man. Had he seen the encounter between them?

"A-about what? I'm k-kinda busy," Sakura stuttered. Even though she tried to squelch her paranoid thoughts, they still showed their ugly head.

"About stuff, emotions and things that shouldn't be happening but are. I need to talk to you about _us_," Sasuke said, trying to shake off the irritating feeling in the pit of his stomach about that Kabuto guy. He shouldn't tell her what Kabuto had said while they were in the bathroom.

"What do you m-mean, us?" Sakura looked at him confused. She was fidgeting around, her wrist still locked in his hold.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore, what did that bastard do to you?" Sasuke exclaimed suddenly making Sakura flinch away from him. She tugged her arm, trying to free herself, but Sasuke wasn't letting her get away. His grip only tightened when she struggled.

"What are you talking about? Who?" Sakura said, her voice barely a whimper.

"Kabuto," Sasuke spat the name as if it were poison. He then loosened his vice grip on her and she looked up to see him take a deep breath with his eyes closed. In a softer voice, he asked again, "What did he do Sakura?"

She looked up at him with frightened eyes and then she felt him rubbing her sore wrist gently. "Nothing, Sasuke. He just creeps me out, is all."

"So he's never hurt you in any way?" Sasuke asked. Sakura didn't understand why he was being so protective of her.

"N-no, he hasn't," Sakura said, her voice barely audible. In the back of her mind, she heard the words, _"As far as we know,"_ and she shuddered.

"Okay Sakura. Just...tell me if he does, okay?" Sasuke said, holding her hand with both of his.

Sakura nodded before remembering what they were talking about before Sasuke's outburst. "Sasuke, what did you mean by 'us'?" she asked curiously.

"I think I'm falling for you, Sakura," he blurted out. He said it without thought, no hesitation. He really meant it, then.

"But what about...her?" Sakura asked, realizing that she didn't even know Sasuke's girlfriend's name.

"I know. That's just it. I feel horrible about it, but I can't stop," Sasuke said. Sakura thought that maybe he was revealing a little too much about himself.

"Sasuke, listen to me." His eyes rested firmly on her face. "Women are not just toys that you can throw around and do what you want with. We have feelings and must be treated with respect. If you are in a relationship with a girl, stay faithful to her. And don't end it just because of sex either!" Sakura said the last sentence with so much force, so much emotion. Sasuke was surprised. Had she been hurt before?

"Sakura...you're so...noble," Sasuke said slowly, trying to find the words as he withdrew his hands from hers slowly.

"Exactly, see? I'm not what you wanted anyways, so just go now," Sakura said as she tried to walk away.

Sasuke did not grab her but instead stepped in front of her. "On the contrary, that's exactly what I want," he said in a smooth, silky voice. Sakura resisted the urge to swoon.

"Sasuke, you're scaring me now...leave me," Sakura said, adding the last part slowly. She was fighting with herself about what she really wanted him to do.

Her body said, "Sasuke, kiss me already you idiot!" while her mind said, "Stay faithful, Sasuke." In the end, her mind won, as it always did. She was good like that.

She pushed away from him and walked into the girl's bathroom, knowing that he would not follow. She hated to shoot him down, but she had to. After all, he was already in a relationship and...and she wasn't ready. It was too soon for her to have a romantic tie to someone, even if Sasuke was the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor, her...she stopped herself. She didn't need to think of it that way. _He's taken_, she told herself.

-End-

**A/N: Another chapter down! Thanks for the reviews, and the next chapter will be up shortly after this one. I started writing this chapter and before I knew it, it was twice the size of my previous ones for this story so I broke it in half. **

**Here's the first half of the cookie! Enjoy and review.**


	7. Chapter 7, Bad Memories

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Cookie!**

...Thanksgiving break...

Sakura had enjoyed her break. On Thanksgiving, she'd enjoyed a hearty meal with her parents and grandparents. The rest of the week, she'd spent with her friends, all except Sasuke. He'd left Wednesday to go visit his dad and brother so he'd only been there for two days.

Sakura knew why he was really going back home for the weekend. It was to see _her_, but she wasn't stressing it. In fact, she was enjoying her weekend.

It was Sunday. Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were all at Hinata's house swimming in her indoor pool. They were all splashing each other with the water when _they_ walked in. Sakura held in a shriek.

Here she was in only a bikini with _him_ in the room. Ino noticed her discomfort and climbed gracefully out of the pool and walked over to the two boys that had just entered, drying herself off with a towel.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she said in her "Ino" voice. That may have been because she was Ino and she always sounded like herself, but she had this tone that said, "Look at me because I'm sexy." And right now, she was using it.

Strutting around with her perfect figure, Sakura couldn't help but envy her, although she noticed that Sasuke wasn't paying her body any attention. He seemed focused on something distant. He was troubled, she could tell. Sakura knew she shouldn't try to console him but she was too nice.

She stepped timidly out of the pool, knowing that if she'd exited like Ino, she probably would have tripped and fell. Sakura headed in the direction of the two boys and Ino, grabbing her beach towel as she went.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, afraid of the look she might find on his face, and immediately regretted it. The look he was sending her made her want to jump on top of him and...well, nevermind.

She didn't get it. What made her so special? Ino, beautiful Ino, with her perfect tan, perfect curves, perfect face had just strutted past him, and she steps out of the pool timidly and grabs a towel to cover herself and he admires her? This guy made no sense.

Sakura shook away her confusion and then asked them both as she approached, "What's going on? Sasuke?"

"This _teme_ won't tell me anything. Ever since he got back from his dad's place, he's been all sulky and quiet!" Naruto said, flailing his arms in a crazy manner before noticing that there was one other girl still in the pool. "Here, you talk to him," he said as he walked past Sakura to check out the dark-haired girl still in the pool.

After he was out of earshot, Sakura whispered, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Sure, but not here. Let's find a private place to talk," Sasuke said, trying to keep his eyes from wandering.

They walked into Hinata's bedroom, which was adjacent to the fitness room, and Sasuke sat on the end of Hinata's bed. He motioned for Sakura to follow. "I'm too wet right now," she said as she refused.

Then, she nervously removed the towel from around her body to dry out her hair and her legs. Sasuke sat still, trying not to look. He peeked anyway, Sakura's body too alluring to resist.

He noted how her pink hair was ruffled and untamed, her eyes that beautiful emerald green, and her skin a creamy pale color, not like her friend, who was tan. Her body, despite his first impressions was actually well-formed.

She wasn't super curvy like her friend or "The Thing" but the curves were still there, more so than he'd thought at first. Her hips were wide in comparison to her chest, but Sasuke found that he liked the coke-bottle shape better than the perfect hourglass anyways.

Her stomach...were those abs? She worked out? Hm. He never knew. No, he took a second glance. She hadn't worked out in some time. She had muscle mass but there were no over-defined lines. She'd stopped working out some time ago, Sasuke surmised. Either way, Sakura was hot!

Satisfied, Sakura walked over to the bed and laid the towel down then sat beside Sasuke. "So, what's going on?" she asked, trying to remain formal even though she was scantily dressed.

"Huh?" Sasuke said, snapping out of his daze as he forced his eyes to look only at Sakura's face. Then, given their closeness, he decided that was no-good either. He looked around at the room. "I'm the toy," he said simply, knowing that Sakura would understand.

"What happened?" Sakura asked seriously, knowing that he was referencing what she'd said to him before the break.

"I went to visit my dad and brother for the weekend, and I caught her...with another guy," Sasuke said simply. He turned around and stared back at Sakura. His eyes were full of hurt, but also relief. Sakura noticed this but did not say anything.

Sakura was silent for a long time. She really didn't know how to handle this situation. She'd never really dated anyone before...well, except for _him_. That was the only experience she had. But she'd stood beside Ino all these years and had seen a lot of tragedy and heartbreak, so she wasn't stupid.

"Well...are you sure it was her?" she asked finally when it seemed that Sasuke wasn't going to break the silence.

"Positive, I've never seen anyone else with that color hair or who dresses like she does. It had to be Karin," Sasuke said, looking away again.

"Well, whatever happens, it wasn't your fault, Sasuke," Sakura said, trying to keep him from blaming himself.

"No, but this hurt could have been avoided! _You_ told me to stay faithful to her, and look what she did. She doesn't know the meaning of the word!" Sasuke yelled, his eyes turning to Sakura with rage.

Sakura jumped off of the bed, backing away from him. "Sasuke! What's wrong with you?"

"Everything apparently!"

Sakura was trembling. This was why she didn't like getting close to guys. They were _crazy_! "Why do you do this?" she asked in a small voice, raising a clenched fist to her mouth as she backed herself up against a wall.

Sasuke's eyes softened suddenly. "What do you mean?" he asked. As if he didn't know that he was the reason she was cowering in fear.

"Scare me like this! This is why I don't date guys! You're all testosterone-fueled maniacs! If you don't have your way, you freak out or worse, force your way upon others!" Sakura shrieked before she could think about what she was saying. This would surely make Sasuke suspicious.

"Sakura..." He was looking down at his lap.

She'd started crying. Suddenly he was there, right next to her. She could feel his breath on her skin, his hands touching her arms. For a moment, there was bliss. A moment where she felt safe, loved, and comforted.

Then the fear came. She remembered. The only time a man had ever touched her, ever been that close and she was fighting him off in the dark. He was stripping her of her clothes and her innocence. He was hurting her.

_He was on top of her, reaching for her most sacred parts. She felt around for his face in the darkness. When she found it, she realized it was too late. She could feel him, right outside of her._

Without realizing what she was doing, Sakura flailed her arms and screamed. Sasuke backed away quickly, but he was too late. One of her motions had caused him to somehow get scratched in the face. It didn't hurt too bad, but it made him worry.

"Get off of me! Get away! Get away!" she was screaming.

_She scratched and clawed at his face, cursing herself for biting her nails. She grabbed his glasses and flung them away from his face. Suddenly he lifted her up and then slammed her back down on the ground._

He had to stop her before the others rushed in and thought that he was hurting her, but it seemed that his touch was what had set her off in the first place. He had to try something though.

_She was dizzy all of a sudden, and she went limp beneath the dark man. It was too late, too much for her. She was defeated. It was over, her purity was gone. She felt it all over again, the pain, the blood._

Suddenly Sakura went limp and Sasuke rushed over to her and caught her before she could hit the ground. He put his hand over her mouth in case she could still scream. He didn't understand it. Her eyes were closed tightly and she was shaking.

Was she going crazy or was she...remembering? Sasuke froze in place as he remembered something someone had said.

"_A pretty little virgin, too bad he got to her first. I would have loved to have been the one to do the dirty work on her. Maybe I'll go to Konoha next time I need a good lay."_

Konoha. That's where that other girl had been from. What if...could Sakura have been the one he was talking about a few years back? Sasuke suddenly felt angry towards the people he knew had done this. If it was Sakura...if she's the one he did that to...he would kill that bastard.

-End-

**A/N: Here's your second half of the cookie. Hope you liked it! Sorry, I want a cookie... Enjoy this cliffie and give me your thoughts. **

**Who was speaking in Sasuke's flashback? And who was that person talking about? Was Sakura that girl? The last question is the easy one. Ha! **

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	8. Chapter 8, Comfort

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Hmmm...where to go now? Oh yea! What happened with Sakura and Sasuke! 'starts typing frantically' Wait! 'stops typing' Another note, it may have seemed wierd that Sakura was wearing a bikini given how THAT NIGHT affected her personality, but it was supposed to be a girl's day for her, Ino, and Hinata. IOW, no guys should have been there. Sasuke came home a day early which threw out that plan. So that's why she's wearing a bikini. Now, to the story! 'starts back typing frantically'**

Sasuke was still holding Sakura in his arms when he heard the footsteps right outside. He didn't want to drop Sakura on the floor but he knew that it didn't look good for him to be holding her after her outburst so he quickly positioned her in a lazyboy chair in the corner of the room and backed away just in time.

Ino burst through the door, still in her bathing suit. She was furious, Sasuke could tell. He backed away from Sakura quickly, hoping that Ino would see that she was fine, just resting. Well, he didn't actually know if she was fine, but still.

Ino pointed her finger threateningly at him and stomped across the room in three strides. She was in his face now, her brows furrowed, her face turning red with anger. Sasuke had never seen her like this before. She was scary! Then, he remembered what Sakura had said just before her episode. Had he looked like that when he got mad? _No wonder Sakura freaked out_, he thought smugly. He couldn't believe that he'd done that to her.

"What did you do to her, you monster?" Ino shrieked, pulling her hand back to slap him. Sasuke wouldn't hit a girl but he wasn't going to be beat up by one, either. As her hand came flying towards his face, he instinctively grabbed it tightly with one hand. She tried the other and he grabbed that one, too.

She was in a rage, going insane. Meanwhile, Sakura was lolled out on the chair nearby. Suddenly Sakura felt Ino's weight shift. She was about to kick him! He pushed her away from him forcefully. She fell backwards onto the bed and lost her breath.

"Ino, chill out! I didn't hurt her!" Sasuke yelled as the blonde pulled herself back up, still mad.

"Really? Then why was she screaming? And how do you expect me to believe that after what you just did?" Ino yelled, this time keeping her distance as she massaged her wrists.

"You were going to hurt me!" Sasuke defended. He felt like a little kid again.

"Because you hurt my friend!"

"No, would you listen? I didn't hurt her! She was just...well, I don't know. It was like she started having flashbacks and she scratched me and then she just fell out. I don't know what happened to her, but I think she's going to be okay. I didn't let her hit the floor so she didn't actually get hurt," Sasuke explained, using Ino's fear against her. At least it allowed him to explain without being assaulted.

"Why was she having flashbacks? Did you touch her? Did you _try _something?" Ino asked it in a deathly tone. Obviously, she knew Sakura's secret, whatever it was.

"No, I just...we were...arguing. And then she started crying because I freaked out over something stupid and I tried to comfort her. I...I touched her arms. I didn't think anything of it. She was okay at first and then, all of a sudden, she started flailing her arms and she scratched me." He explained it again, starting from an early point this time. "_I_ didn't hurt her," he added in a more serious voice as he looked down, knowing either way that he had caused this.

Ino was calm now. She looked back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura. No, he didn't hurt her. He scared her was all. And that made her think of _him_.

She ran over to her friend who was apparently unconscious. "Leave us," she said, glaring at him again.

"No, I want to know if she's okay," Sasuke protested.

"She'll be better if you're not here when she wakes up," Ino said, not knowing how deep her words cut him.

Sasuke, sad and defeated, walks out of the room and as soon as he closes the door, Ino speaks to Sakura. "Saku-chan, open your eyes. It's okay, you're safe," she says in a soothing voice.

Sakura's eyes open slowly and then she looks around, scared, searching for him. When she only sees Ino, she jumps into her friend's arms, hugging her neck. She cries on Ino's bare shoulder and the blonde comforts her.

...

Sakura and Ino walk out together ten minutes later.

Sasuke is sitting on one of the poolside chairs, Naruto on his right with Hinata sprawled out on his chest, playing with a few of his stray hairs. Sasuke has a sad look still on his face. He glances up when he hears the door open then looks away quickly. Sakura does the same.

Ino glares at Sasuke, and then they all ignore each other. It's in the air now. Things will never be the same between the three of them again.

...Two weeks later...

A knock is heard. Sakura is downstairs when she hears it. She looks through the peephole, smiles, then opens the door.

"Hey Ino," she says addressing her best friend. She lets her in the house, and is surprised to find her dressed up. "What's with the clothes?" she asks, noting how Ino is wearing one of her nicer tops and her cutest skirt.

"Oh, Naruto _convinced_ me to go to a party at Sasuke's house this afternoon. I came to invite you, if you want to anyways."

"Ino..."

"I know, I know. He scares you now, but then again, doesn't every guy except Naruto? And that's only because you've known him since you were, like, five! Sakura, he said he didn't actually hurt you, is that true?" Ino said with a sigh.

Sakura was silent for a while. Then she answered slowly, "He...didn't hurt me...He made me...remember."

"Well then why are you afraid of him?"

"I'm not afraid of him, Ino. I'm afraid I'll remember again. When he touched me..." She smiles for a second, then it disappears. "I felt safe-for a second!" she said, covering her tracks quickly. "Then, I remember..."

Ino smirked. "Sakura, maybe he's _the one_. He might be the only person that can heal you."

"I'm not sick, Ino! And besides, he has a girlfriend, how can he be 'the one'? He's taken!" Sakura exclaimed. Her friend, she loved her, but she was too quick to draw conclusions.

"Well, why were you in Hinata's room anyways? He was upset about something and he wanted to talk to you," Ino prodded. Naruto hadn't known what was wrong with Sasuke or he would have already blabbed to everyone.

"I probably shouldn't say. He didn't even tell Naruto about it. He knew I wouldn't blab his secrets," Sakura rambled, hoping Ino wouldn't pressure her. She didn't do well under pressure.

"Exactly, he didn't want _someone else_ to know his secrets. He would only tell _you. _Doesn't that mean something?" Ino said, her eyes wide and suggestive. At least she hadn't pressured Sakura.

"I...guess. Maybe...but still..."

"But still what? You don't have anything, do you? Now, get dressed and come with me to the party," Ino said, knowing that she'd won.

"Ino..."

Ino gave her the puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine..."

"Yay!" Ino hugs Sakura and then pushes her the whole way to her bedroom to get dressed.

-End-

**A/N: A filler! Yay, you guys like those right! You must if you watched the episodes of Naruto instead of reading the manga, Ha! REVIEW Please!**


	9. Chapter 9, The Party

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Cake and punch! I know that last chapter was kind of a filler but I broke these two up again. I know they seem short but I'm trying to make the story last longer. Anyways enjoy.**

It was 9:00 PM, the time the party was supposed to start. Sakura had ridden with Ino to the house. As they crossed the lawn, they could hear the music playing.

Sakura marveled at how spectacular Sasuke's house looked, even in the dark. Weren't his parents split up? If this was _half_ of the fortune, what did it _all_ look like? His house was two-story, similar to hers but three times the size. She heard splashing as she got closer. There was a hot tub in the back room. She could see it through the glass walls. In the front of the house, lights were placed along the path so you could see. All the lights were on in the house apparently and Sakura wondered how his mom would allow such a party to take place.

They were greeted at the door by Naruto, who'd already arrived with Hinata. He held a glass of liquid in his hand and he hugged both girls with one arm. As he hugged Sakura, she wondered if that was alcohol. She hoped not.

As they entered the house, Sakura realized that the inside was even more spectacular than the outside. They had set up black lights and most of the people were either dancing or drinking whatever was in those red plastic cups and talking to their friends. Sakura recognized a lot of people from her school, but there were a bunch that she didn't know.

She saw a guy with dark hair wearing dark clothing and her first guess was: Sasuke. Then suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around to see who it was.

"Hey. I see you decided to show up," he said in that smooth voice. Sakura couldn't help but smile. She covered it up quickly and then looked around.

"I could have sworn that I saw you a half-second ago over there," Sakura said, pointing in the direction she'd seen "Sasuke."

"Oh, you probably saw my older brother. He's here somewhere," Sasuke said, although he didn't sound too happy about it.

"Hey..._Sasuke_, who's your friend, bro?" a very drunk man said as he walked up behind Sakura on her other side. Sakura almost jumped out of her skin. Either way, she found herself holding on to the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt and hiding partly behind him. She released him quickly and moved away.

"Um...Sakura, meet my brother, Itachi. Itachi, meet my _friend_ Sakura," Sasuke said awkwardly.

"Um...hi," Sakura said in a low voice as she held out her hand courteously. Itachi grabbed her hand, or more like he picked up his hand and it fell on hers.

"Hey sweetie..." he said, slurring and stumbling all the while. Sakura tried to jerk her hand away but he didn't let go.

Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of her. He was tensed up as he grabbed his brother's wrist, causing him to let go of Sakura's hand. "You aren't supposed to have alcohol here brother or did you forget? Mom's going to _kill_ you," Sasuke said, trying to mock him to hide his anger.

Sakura watched and listened to the exchange, wondering why Sasuke was so uncomfortable around his brother. Of course, with the way Itachi was acting, that wasn't someone you would exactly introduce your friends of the opposite sex to.

Itachi stumbled off, still drinking from his cup as he checked out some of the other girls. Sasuke turned to Sakura with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry about him. He's scary...when he's drunk," Sasuke said, adding the last part as almost an afterthought.

"Yea," Sakura agreed quietly. "So, is everyone drinking?" she asked tentatively.

"No, they aren't supposed to. My mom's over there serving the punch. She asked that we keep it all clean, but Itachi just got here an hour ago from Dad's house and he brought his drink with him. Of course, he mixed it with punch so Mom wouldn't notice."

"There's no hiding it now," Sakura said impulsively. She covered her mouth quickly. Sasuke laughed. Sakura looked at him, amazed. She'd made him laugh, without even trying to. She couldn't remember ever hearing the serious Uchiha laugh. She smiled.

Her smile was quickly washed away, however, when a red-headed girl wearing a tube top and a miniskirt pushed her out of the way and grabbed Sasuke around the neck. She saw him tense up. _That's her_, she thought to herself. She looked at Sasuke and he was looking back at her, his expression strange.

"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun? Aren't you happy to see me? Your brother told me about the party so I decided to surprise you!" the girl said after she'd released him. She was so enthusiastic. It was like nothing had happened. Sakura shook her head and then turned away. Sasuke might be mad at her but she wasn't going to get in a fight if that girl thought that Sasuke was cheating on her, too.

"Really? It wouldn't be the first time," Sasuke said, trying to act happy. It didn't work too well. His words came out harsh and bitter.

"What are you talking about?" the red-head, Karin, asked with a frown. She still didn't get it. Sasuke wondered how she could be so clueless.

"Let's go outside where it's quiet and talk," Sasuke said before grabbing her hand and dragging her along with him. He wouldn't give her a choice in the matter.

Sakura had walked off into the crowd. Ino was nowhere in sight. It was like she'd left Sakura to talk with Sasuke. Now, Sakura yearned for the comfort of her friend. Sakura walked by the kitchen in her search where she heard another exchange taking place. She peeked around the corner of the entrance.

A slender woman with long straight black hair stood with her hands on her hips. Itachi stood with his drink in hand, leaning against the cabinet. "What did I tell you, Itachi?" she exclaimed.

"Hm?"

"Don't act like you're too drunk to know! I said, 'No alcohol!' and what do you do? You bring some. Did you also spike the punch?"

"No...of course...not...why...would I do that...mommy?" Itachi asked, taking another sip of his drink.

She snatched the drink out of his hand. "Give me this! Now where's the rest of it?" she said as she took the drink away. Itachi shrugged. "Get out!" she exclaimed, kicking him promptly out of the kitchen.

Sakura hurried back away from the door. She didn't want either the drunk Itachi or their mother to know she'd been eavesdropping. She heard a crash and later footsteps behind her. Itachi walked around her, heading towards the door. Sakura sighed with relief, hoping nobody would notice.

Another person exited the kitchen. Sakura turned around. Sasuke's mother was filling up more glasses of punch from the punchbowl on the bar. She'd wiped away her angry expression and now seemed happy.

Sakura walked over to her. She looked up and then smiled. "Do you want some punch?" she asked nicely.

"Um...no, ma'am. I'm...not thirsty." She eyeballed the punch suspiciously. What if Itachi didn't know where the rest of his drink was because he'd dumped it in the punchbowl?

"You seem like a nice girl. Do you go to school with Sasuke?"

"Yes ma'am, I do. We're...kinda friends."

"Oh, okay. You with that Naruto guy and the rest of them?" she asked. Apparently, Sasuke must have mentioned us.

"Yes. I'm Sakura."

"Oh yes, Sasuke has talked about you a lot. I'm Mikoto. I always pick at him about not making enough friends." She put her hand to her mouth and whispered playfully, "His taste in girls isn't that great either. That's when he talks about you."

"Good or bad?" Sakura asked warily. She hoped Sasuke didn't talk down about her behind her back. She'd have to have Ino beat him up if so. She wouldn't do it for fear of what he would do.

"Good, of course. He says that you are a smart girl and you're a great writer. He also says that you are a good friend and you don't flirt with lots of guys like most girls," Mikoto said truthfully.

Sakura smiled. "No, I don't. He talked about my writing?"

"Yes, something about a poem you wrote for a class. He said it made his feel inadequate."

"Oh." Sakura decided she better not say that he didn't read it, in case he hadn't told her.

"Shoot, I wish Sasuke would date someone like you instead of that other girl. She's here isn't she?" Mikoto said, a look of disgust on her face.

"Yes, I saw her." Sakura wondered why Sasuke's mother didn't like Karin. Did she know about her being unfaithful to Sasuke?

Mikoto shook her head, then she smiled at Sakura. "Well, don't spend your whole night talking to this old woman. Go have fun, hang out with your friends!" she exclaimed, motioning for Sakura to go. Sakura smiled a genuine smile. Sasuke's mother was nice. She didn't understand why he didn't talk about her much.

"Okay, bye," she responded. She decided to grab a punch just to make Mikoto feel better, then she walked away.

She walked around in circles it seemed until she ended up standing back in front of the door. She still hadn't seen Ino since entering. _I wonder where she could be hiding..._

"Oh no," she said it out loud before she even realized it. Someone was walking through the door, no two someones. One drunk and laughing giddily, the other stoic and grim. He peered over his glasses at the people in the living room. Then, his eyes fell on her.

Where was Sasuke, Naruto, Ino when she needed them? A knot formed in her throat as he smirked and walked over to her. She almost dropped her half empty glass of punch on the floor, she was shaking so bad.

"Why so nervous, Sakura-chan? I only came to talk," he said, his voice smooth and snaky.

"T-talk about what?" Sakura stuttered before taking a swig of punch to hide her nervousness.

"How beautiful you look tonight," Kabuto said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura said, looking away as she drank down the rest of her punch.

While she wasn't looking, Itachi gave Kabuto a look and then shook his now-full glass of punch suggestively. Kabuto grinned before turning back to Sakura.

"Here, let me refill that for you," he said, holding out his hand.

"Um...um..." Sakura was nervous, but she handed him the glass just so he would leave.

Itachi walked away as Kabuto headed to the bar for her punch. She was worrying about Kabuto's intentions when she sat down on the couch by the window. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and then turned around to look out the window. When she did, she wished she hadn't.

Right outside the window, just barely far enough away so that not everyone could see, Sasuke and Karin were...making out. Sakura felt her stomach turn and knot up. She didn't understand why but she knew that at that moment, she was hurting. Perhaps a part of her believed Ino and hoped that Sasuke would break up with Karin and she could have him, but now...it was hopeless. This just proved they weren't supposed to be together. He was going to be with Karin forever.

Suddenly, Sakura was hoping for Kabuto to hurry back with the punch. When he got back, she grabbed the punch eagerly. He looked surprised, but then he leveled his expression and sat down beside her. Sakura was too busy drinking the punch to notice him slide his arm behind her on the couch.

-End-

**A/N: What's this? Sasuke and Karin kiss, Sakura sees it. Now she's distressed and she accepts the drink that Kabuto, snaky guy that makes her nervous, offers her...What's going to happen next? Tune in next time for the conclusion of the party, "Party Poopers!"**


	10. Chapter 10, Party Poopers

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Punch and alcohol! Congrats to Sakura2cute4u for guessing what Kabuto is up to, now here's part 2 of the party!**

Sakura's world was spinning. Everyone was dancing and that just made her that much dizzier. She didn't understand what was going on, but as she felt his hand reach out for hers, she accepted it and then he led her off of the couch. They walked through the crowd of people together and before Sakura knew it, she was stumbling up a flight of stairs.

Voices soon became muffled. Everything was blurry. She tried to speak but her words came out slurred and distorted. She didn't even understand herself. A chuckle was heard beside her, then she made impact with something soft. Was this a bed? _Oh no_, she thought to herself. She'd felt this before, the fear, a man touching her. And this time, she was too drunk to even resist.

...

Kabuto had led the pink-haired girl up the stairs, trying to hide her drunkeness from the others. Once there, Itachi was waiting outside a door. He opened it and then led them inside. It was a bedroom. More importantly, it was Sasuke's bedroom.

Kabuto pushed Sakura onto the bed and then walked slowly, ominously towards her. She was muttering incoherent sentences under her breath. Her eyes were half-way closed, and her body was limp.

Kabuto chuckled again and he heard Itachi say, "I'll stay out here to keep everyone out."

...

Naruto was dancing with Hinata, when he saw two people move suspiciously to the staircase. He told Hinata to wait for him as he worked his way through the crowd. At the edge of the crowd, he could see who it was. Kabuto was leading a girl up the staircase. Her hair was a light color and she was small in build, just like Sakura. Once they were at the top of the stairs, Naruto realized that it _was_ Sakura.

He frowned before rushing outside to where he knew Sasuke was with his girlfriend. "Sasuke-teme, I need your help now!" he exclaimed as he busted through the front door, making Sasuke and the girl in his lap jump.

"What is it Naruto? I'm busy," Sasuke said in an irritable voice. Sure he was busy, busy making out with this slut. Naruto would never tell him that out loud.

"Kabuto. He's got Sakura and he went upstairs with her," Naruto said, hoping to see his friend's features darken at the mention of Kabuto's name.

"Well, maybe she's finally relaxing and enjoying the party," Sasuke said, his voice smooth with no hints of anger. What was his deal? Then, he turned back to Karin and started kissing her again and Naruto had his answer. Naruto shook his head and then turned around and followed in the direction that Kabuto had gone.

He tried not to make a scene as he went upstairs, where he found Itachi standing outside of one of the doors. He frowned at Itachi as he walked up to the elder Uchiha brother.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice cold and threatening.

"Where is who, Naruto?" Itachi asked calmly. His face was straight, but Naruto didn't believe his innocence for one minute.

"Sakura! I know you have her in there! She's with Kabuto isn't she?" Naruto asked, knowing that Sakura would not have gone with that creep willingly.

"If she was, it would have been her choice."

"You liar! Let me in that room!" Naruto said, not realizing that his voice was rising to where other people could hear him.

"No," Itachi said, teasing Naruto.

Naruto, angry as hell, rushed at the Uchiha and pushed him down, something that football had taught him. With the Uchiha stunned, he burst through the door that Itachi was guarding and found that it was just a bathroom. He frowned. Itachi had tricked him.

He turned to the door on the other side of the hall. The master bedroom, but it was empty. He rushed down the hallway, opening all of the doors on his way.

Empty. Empty. Empty. Only one more door left. _This must be Sasuke's bedroom_, he thought. Just as he reached for the handle, something hit him in the face. He was rocked backwards and then Itachi was in front of him in a flash.

"You can't go in there, Naruto," he said as he popped his fingers. His face was level but threatening.

"That's my friend. You better let me in there!" Naruto exclaimed as he regained his balance and ran at Itachi again, this time with his fists clenched and ready to fire.

He swung and Itachi dodged the first one, then his left hand caught him off guard. Itachi was rocked for a second but he regained his balance quickly and swung at Naruto. He was fast but his punches didn't even faze Naruto. He was much stronger. Itachi must have been a geek when he was in school, whereas Naruto was a star football player. It didn't take long and Naruto had overpowered Itachi. He pushed him out of the way and then opened the door quickly.

He gasped at what he saw. Kabuto was on top of a limp Sakura, his pants undone and hers pulled halfway off of her so anyone that came in could see her underwear. He was apparently about to pierce her when the door opened and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Get off of her!" Naruto said, his voice more evil and threatening than it had ever been.

Kabuto jumped off of the bed, fixing his pants quickly, leaving Sakura on the bed. He walked over to Naruto confident. "What do you think you're doing interrupting us?" he asked as he got closer.

"Looks more like interrupting _you_. Get out of here before I beat you to a pulp," Naruto hissed, pointing a shaking finger toward the exit. Kabuto smirked at him before doing as he commanded, picking Itachi up off of the floor as he went.

Naruto closed the door shut behind him and then walked over to Sakura, his expression softening. She was unconscious. Her breath smelled of punch with a hint of alcohol. Naruto frowned. They'd gotten her drunk just so that snake could have his way with her.

Naruto didn't even want to look to see if he had, so he adjusted Sakura's pants and then picked her up bridal-style and carried her out of the room. A few people turned around to look as he walked through the living room but most of them kept dancing. Ino was nowhere to be found, so Naruto decided to take Sakura home himself.

Hinata rushed up to him, her face worried. "N-Naruto-kun? What happened?" she said quietly.

"Sakura passed out. Listen, could you get Ino to take you home? Please?" Naruto said, his voice sincere.

"S-Sure, okay," Hinata said without hesitation before grabbing her phone and texting Ino while Naruto walked out of the house with Sakura.

Sasuke and his slut of a girlfriend that had almost caused Sakura to get raped were nowhere to be found. _Good, he doesn't need to see her like this anyways_, Naruto thought smugly. Sure, he and Sasuke were friends but when their friend was in trouble Sasuke had chosen that slut of a girl over Sakura. That made Naruto angry.

Pushing the thoughts of Sasuke out of his mind, Naruto carried Sakura to his car, where he put her in the passenger seat and then drove her home, hoping that her parents weren't there.

-End-

**A/N: I know that was a shorter chapter, but I just wanted to finish the party scene. So, tell me what you think? Is anyone mad at Sasuke yet? If so, you are supposed to be so don't feel bad. Yea, he's an idiot for taking Karin back. Anyways, REVIEW PLEASE!**


	11. Chapter 11, Dirty Little RedHead

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Okay so I was going to update this story the day after I updated the last chapter, but then I couldn't write anything good, so I quit on it for a bit. And the past couple days I have been in Covington. I got a new car, yay!**

_**And thanks to midnightsaphire for giving me a shoutout on Ch.2 of her story. Now, she gets this chapter and a big shoutout to her story. You guys need to check it out. Just look her up and read, "Once Upon a Vampire?" While you're at it, leave Midnightsaphire a nice review! **_

**So anyways, back to the story! I know you guys all hate Sasuke right now and this is definitely going to cause some tension but it's all good. You just have to read to find out how all these events lead up to the big, huge, giant twist! Okay, well it may not be that major to some of you.**

It had been almost two weeks since the party. Monday. Again. Sakura sighed as she got out of bed. The only good thing about it was that she only had to go to school two and a half more days this week because Saturday was Christmas and the break started mid-Wednesday. It was always so wierd how they made the schedule.

As she walked to her dresser, she looked at herself in the mirror. _Am I not worth protecting?_ she asked herself.

Ever since the party, she'd entered a state of depression. She wouldn't talk to Sasuke and neither would Naruto for that matter. Ino was even angrier with the jerk than she and Naruto were and Hinata just followed along. She had a good heart. She tried to reason with everyone that perhaps Karin had purposefully enticed Sasuke to stay away, but who would believe a story like that? Only Hinata.

What had happened after Naruto drove Sakura home, you ask? Well, it went kind of like this:

Naruto runs almost every red light in town trying to get Sakura away from Kabuto and Itachi without them following him. He takes her inside using her key, conveniently placed in her pocket. Luckily her parents aren't home. It takes about two minutes for Ino to arrive and she rushes up the stairs to Sakura's room and finds Naruto tucking Sakura into her bed. She goes out of the room to talk to him and asks him what happens. When she finishes, they go back to the room to find Sakura awake. She tells Ino that Naruto should know what happened to her. Ino resists but then agrees and Sakura tells him about being raped four years ago. Naruto, naturally, gets mad. He demands that Sakura tell him who did that to her so that he can kill them. He is such a good friend. After they calm him down, he tells Sakura about Sasuke and she starts crying. Ino comforts her and then they all get mad at Sasuke. The End.

So, that's how they got to where they are now. Mad at Sasuke, Itachi, Kabuto, and a few even mad at Karin.

Sakura continued to stare at herself in the mirror. She'd not had a good night's sleep for almost two weeks and it was beginning to show. She had bags under her eyes, her hair was oily and unkempt, she'd been wearing the same PJ's to bed for a week, and she looked altogether miserable.

She sighed and then went to take a shower before getting ready for school. Once she'd finished her shower, she dried her hair and then got dressed. Never again would she wear a bikini to swim in and never again would she go to a party, even if she did trust the people that were throwing it. No matter what they say, there's _always_ going to be alcohol involved.

Sakura pulled out a maroon sweatshirt and a pair of black jeans. Then she put on her fluffy boots. (A/N: I'm talking about those boots that are really popular right now with the wool-like insides.) She combed her hair then let it hang around her face.

She was walking down the stairs to the kitchen when her cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID. It was him. She started to answer it, but then stopped herself. Why should she talk to him? He didn't even try to help her that night. He only cared about that little slut of a girlfriend. Why should she be there for him when he will not do the same for her?

She silenced the phone and then walked out of her house. She didn't even feel like eating breakfast this morning. So many things ran through Sakura's mind right now that she didn't even know if she would be able to concentrate in school.

She was sitting outside waiting for the bus when she saw it. A blue Chevy Camaro was heading in the direction of her house. Sakura swallowed and then stood up to leave the bus stop but the car sped up and got to her before she could get away.

He had one arm hanging out the window and his face had a mixture of amusement and confusion plastered over his handsome features. "Come on Sakura, I'll take you to school. You shouldn't have to wait out here in the cold," he said. Well, he was sincere at least.

Sakura sighed and then turned around and walked over to the passenger side of the car. She got in and Sasuke looked over at her. "What's been going on for the past couple weeks? You guys have been giving me the cold shoulder," he said innocently.

"Don't act like you don't know," Sakura said quietly, trying to hide the bitterness in her voice.

"I don't know, Sakura. So, did you and Kabuto make up?" Sasuke said, still naive.

"Make up?" Sakura shrieked, looking appalled. She glared at Sasuke. "There is no _making up_ for us. I don't even like him but he's...obsessed with me. He always was!"

"Always was? You mean, you guys dated before?" Sasuke asked as he drove away from Sakura's bus stop.

"Yes. In the eighth grade. I went out with him twice but...things didn't work out," Sakura explained, hoping Sasuke would not ask.

Worse. He understood. "He's a pig, you know. He and Itachi have been friends for a while. They're both pigs. That's why I didn't want you near Itachi, but then Naruto said you'd gone upstairs with Kabuto and I just...well, _I_ thought that was bad but..._she'd _already said that you two were getting together."

"She?" Sakura asked. Maybe Hinata was right after all.

"Yes, Karin is also a friend of Kabuto and he'd told her he was courting you. So, when Naruto came to me, I just thought that he'd succeeded. What really happened Sakura?" Sasuke finally inquired. He'd stopped at a red light.

"Nothing," Sakura said quickly. She wasn't going to tell him. There was no way she would tell that stupid, uncaring, selfish-Sakura froze.

Sasuke had leaned over and his lips were pressed against her cheek. She blinked. Not the lips, and he hadn't tried to fondle her either. Why did he have to love that stupid red-headed slut? Why!

"Um...uh...well he...he got me drunk," Sakura said as Sasuke pulled away and then started driving again.

"And?" Sasuke inquired further.

"He...he tried to...um...Sasuke, I can't talk about this!" Sakura said, finally snapping out of her daze.

"It's okay. I think I understand," Sasuke said, a frown setting itself on his face. Sakura wondered if he was mad at her for not talking to him.

Sakura nodded her head in response and then it was quiet the rest of the way to school. Sakura was so confused now. She didn't know whether she should be mad at Sasuke or if she should hunt Karin down for almost causing her to be raped. Moreover, what would Ino and Naruto say when she pulled into the school parking lot in Sasuke's car?

"So you mean to tell me that you guys have made up? Already? Sakura, he left you for dead!" Ino said dramatically, her voice echoing off of the bathroom walls.

"We haven't _made up_. He just talked to me about it and he really didn't know what was going on. Karin had convinced him that Kabuto and I were dating," Sakura said in a lower voice, trying to reason with her friend.

"I told you so...," Hinata pitched in with her quiet yet taunting voice. She giggled slightly knowing that she'd been right all along.

"Shut up!" Ino yelled, glaring at Hinata who ignored her. "Sakura, do you trust him? Even after what happened? I know that I've been saying all along for you to start trusting guys again but this...well, what he did was unforgivable!"

"Ino, he didn't know. She tricked him," Sakura explained again.

Ino took a deep breath and then let it out. "Well, if you trust him, then I guess I will too. I can't tell you what to do with your love life."

"Ahem! It's not my love life Ino! He's just a friend!" Sakura said, her cheeks turning pink.

"Sure he is, Sakura-_chan_," Ino teased, trailing her finger along Sakura's cheek as she strutted out of the bathroom. Hinata giggled and followed her. Sakura stared after her friends, both irritated and embarrassed. Was she _that_ obvious?

-End-

**A/N: Woot! Finally finished this one. It was tough for me considering that I stopped midway and then I lost my train of thought. Oh well, it's finished. From now on, don't stop until I finish the chapter! Got it! Anyways, R&R!**


	12. Chapter 12, Turning Point

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Okay so I have tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday before I'm off to college. It may be a while before I update again what with classes and everything. This is currently the only story, other than "Too Long" that I am going to work on due to the reader demand. I will try to finish this story soon! So, here's a chapter before I leave.**

Christmas break was over now and things were beginning to calm down in Konoha. Sakura had started talking to Sasuke again and with her forgiveness the others soon followed, although everyone could tell that _Naruto_ had not forgotten what the jerk had done.

Now, they were all concentrating on the end of the school year which was fast approaching. Every senior was excited, but Sakura and her friends had to be the most excited of all. Sakura was already registered for Konoha University and now she was busy filling out scholarship applications.

She was in the middle of carrying a large folder filled with important papers when she ran into _him_. The folder fell out of her hand. She'd gotten out of class to go to the counselor's office and now she was alone in the hall with them. _Why didn't they buy security cameras for this school?_ she asked herself, knowing that he could do anything and they wouldn't see.

"Sakura-chan, you're such a klutz. Does my presence really bother you _that_ much?" he asked in his snaky voice as he looked at the folder she'd dropped. Of course _he _wouldn't help her pick it up, even if it had been his fault.

She stooped down in front of him to gather her belongings, and then gasped when he stooped down too, placing his hands on her arms. "G-get off of me, K-kabuto," Sakura stuttered afraid of what he might do.

"I can't Sakura. My body needs you, Sakura-chan. Please..." he begged, his eyes, although still creepy, more desperate now.

"Well, m-my doesn't n-need you, so...get away from m-me," Sakura said, her attitude coming out even through her stuttering.

"Cold as ice, I love it. I've always loved that about you Sakura-chan. You're always 'The Tease' and I can't stand it. Please Sakura, just once," he said giving her his best 'sexy' face. "I won't hurt you like _he_ did," he added quietly.

"W-what?" Sakura exclaimed. Was he blaming her rape on someone else? What did he know? The glasses, surely those were a sign. Surely, Kabuto was the one that scarred her, but now...Sakura doubted everything she'd ever believed about "That Night."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Y-you mean...someone else..?" Sakura could barely form the words in her mouth.

"Yes, Sakura. I know," he said quietly. He was smiling at her but at the same time, Sakura got the feeling that he was concerned.

"Well, who was it, then?" she asked, thinking that maybe she'd finally made a breakthrough with this guy.

"I'll only tell you on one condition," he said, a smirk forming on his face.

Sasuke was in the computer lab working on his senior project when he saw someone pass by in the hall. He stood up and walked to the door, looking out the small window. He saw two people walk into the bathroom together. One with grey hair in a ponytail, the other...wait, was that pink hair? And they'd both gone in the boys bathroom?

Sasuke knew something was fishy. He could have sworn he saw pink and there was only one explanation for that. Sakura. He had to get in there before something bad happened to her.

"Naruto." He turned around and addressed his blonde-haired friend. They were the only two in the computer lab other than the lab technician, a middle-aged guy that was currently napping.

"Huh? I'm almost finished with my narrative, what is it?" he asked. Naruto could be such a nerd sometimes. He'd changed so much since junior high.

"Get over here now," Sasuke said, not playing games anymore. Naruto took one look at his face and then rushed over to his friend. "I just saw two people walk into the guy's bathroom together and I think one of them was Sakura."

"Well, what are we wasting time for? Come on, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed as he rushed out of the room, Sasuke following behind him.

The two boys slowed down and walked casually into the bathroom but then froze at the sight in front of them. Sakura was leaning in to kiss Kabuto when she saw them and pulled away immediately. Then someone busted in through the back door of the bathroom, someone very familiar.

"Itachi?" everyone but Sakura exclaimed. Sakura was too embarrassed to say anything.

Kabuto suddenly became very angry. He frowned at the elder Uchiha brother menacingly. "What are you doing here?" he hissed, as if the others couldn't hear him.

"I came to check up on you," Itachi said, although it was obvious Kabuto didn't believe him.

"You came to ruin me!" Kabuto said, his fists clenched at his side.

"Now now Kabuto. You are nothing without my guidance admit it. You would have never found your love if it hadn't been for me, and you know it," Itachi said cooly making everyone's eyes fall on Sakura.

"What is this? A freakin' soap opera?" Naruto exclaimed to no one in particular then looked at Sakura. "Sakura, what are you doing in here with Kabuto anyways?"

"Um...well, you see...I was..." Sakura trailed off, embarrassed by the truth but desperate for her answers.

"She was going to have sex with him," Sasuke said, his tone bitter. He was still in a relationship with Karin, so Sakura didn't understand why he was so mad. He looked at her with something akin to disgust.

"What? Sakura-chan, is that true?" Naruto exclaimed. Okay, even when he was a nerd, he was an idiot! A naive nerdy idiot, that's Naruto.

"Um...well...yes," Sakura said quietly, her face turning red. She couldn't tell them why she was going to do it, not with this many people here and Sasuke still didn't know about "That Night" so she couldn't tell him.

"Kabuto, get rid of these idiots and then you can have your fun," Itachi said encouragingly.

Kabuto looked at Naruto and Sasuke. They _had_ interrupted him when Sakura was about to willingly have sex with him, while sober might he add. But then again, so had Itachi. And Itachi had spoiled his fun plenty of times. Itachi was the reason Sakura hated him. He'd listened to that Uchiha's advice too much and it had cost him a beautiful smart girl.

"No," he said, his voice firm as he turned on Itachi.

"What?" Itachi asked stupidly. He acted as though he did not hear Kabuto correctly. "Excuse me, but what did you say? Did you just disobey me?"

"Yes, I did. Because you are not my mother, and because you've screwed with enough people's lives already. You screwed with mine and now Sakura hates me, you screwed with hers, you even screwed with your own brother's life! You're just a cold, jealous bastard, and I'm through listening to you Itachi!"

Itachi was speechless but Sasuke's expression had now changed. "What did you say Kabuto? How did Itachi screw with my life?" he asked, his tone acidic.

"By _screwing_ your girlfriend! He's been with her ever since you moved here," Kabuto said, looking back at Sasuke. Itachi, meanwhile, was fuming and now, so was Sasuke.

"Wait a minute...if he made Sakura hate you, then why was she in here with you in the first place?" Naruto asked and everyone was too mad to listen except Kabuto, who heard perfectly.

This next part they _all_ heard perfectly. "Because I promised that I would tell her who _raped_ her four years ago. But now, I'll tell her anyways. It was _him_!" Kabuto exclaimed pointing to Itachi.

Before anyone else could say anything, Kabuto was lying on the bathroom floor with his nose bleeding. Itachi had hit him out of nowhere. Now he stood behind Sakura, his arm holding her by the neck close to his body. Something flashed in his right hand.

Sasuke gasped, Naruto yelled, and Sakura screamed.

-End-

**A/N: I know you guys just hate these cliffies, right? Well I have to go to bed so I'm stopping here, plus I'm shooting for twenty chapters so I need to keep them kind of short-medium in length. I'm getting up early in the morning too so gn! And don't forget to review! I will update soon! I'm into the plot again. **_**I**_** even want to know what happens next.**


	13. Chapter 13, Remembrance

Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

**A/N: Yay! I'm in my dorm. Hey, if any of my readers are from Lousiana and are going to Southeastern, please email me! I would like some face2face interaction with some of you! Anyways, tomorrow is the first day of class so I'm going to try to write this chapter before I go to bed. I've got about five hours to do it so yeah!**

Everyone stood looking in fear as Itachi held a knife to Sakura's throat. Sasuke was angry as hell, now that he knew not only what Itachi had been doing to his girlfriend but also what he'd done to Sakura.

Naruto was fuming too although his death glares were not nearly as threatening as Sasuke's. Sakura's eyes were wide and pleading. She was fearful for her life, but neither of the boys wanted to move against Itachi because of the danger she would face.

"Itachi, don't do this," Sasuke started, trying to contain his anger for Sakura's sake.

"Why not, little brother? Who will care what happens to this girl?" Itachi asked, turning his head down and nibbling Sakura's ear. He was _trying_ to test Sasuke's control.

Sasuke was quiet for a second, staring at the knife that Itachi held threateningly close to Sakura's throat. Naruto looked at him questionably.

"_I will_," Sasuke finally said as he locked eyes with Sakura, who looked back with affection.

"Me too," Naruto replied, clenching his fist as he and Sasuke leaned their bodies toward Itachi and their friend.

Suddenly, Kabuto was behind Itachi and he grabbed his arm and pulled it away from Sakura's throat with strength that none of them knew he had. "Sakura, now!" he shouted.

The pinkette understood and spun out of Itachi's grip as she landed a kick in his groin. The other two boys rushed in as she backed away and took the knife away from Itachi then Sasuke punched his brother in the face.

"This is for cheating with my girlfriend!" he said after throwing the first punch. "And this is for what you did to Sakura," he said, his tone acid as he punched Itachi even harder, obviously breaking his nose. "Now, leave."

Itachi tried to drag himself up from the floor and Naruto kicked him in the side, trying to get some pleasure for himself. Sasuke shouldn't have all the fun in beating up the bastard.

After a couple kicks, he let Itachi get to his feet and then the Uchiha stumbled back out of the bathroom, sending evil glares back at Kabuto and Sakura. After he was gone, everything was silent for a while.

The air was thick with tension. Sakura was too scared to move; she wanted to run to someone and hug them but right now, she didn't know who would accept her. Naruto was still mad about finding out what Itachi had done to Sakura and how he'd tricked Kabuto into assisting him. Sasuke was the angriest of all, perhaps. He'd just found out that his brother had not only raped his best friend, but he'd also been cheating with his girlfriend. Kabuto was still recovering from being punched in the face, but his attention was clearly on Sakura. She didn't seem to notice however.

After about a minute of nobody moving, Sasuke let out an angry sigh and pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialed a number he knew by heart, and then waited for the reply.

...Ring...ring...ring...

Three times, it did this until finally it went to the voicemail. Sasuke decided to leave a message. After all, this time he didn't plan on listening to her excuses and having her convince him that it wasn't true. He just did not even want to hear her voice, so he winced when her voice played back on the voicemail.

"Hi, you've reached Karin! If you're hearing this, it's because I'm either busy or I'm preoccupied fantasizing about Sasuke-kun! Either way, please leave a message and I'll call you back later!" the recording rang in Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke heard the tone and then took another deep breath, then said flatly, "It's over."

Sakura looked up in shock, Naruto looked at him confused, and Kabuto frowned at the Uchiha, but before anyone could say anything to the Uchiha, he'd put his phone back in his pocket and he walked out the door.

Sakura quickly followed, hoping that no teacher would catch her in the boy's bathroom, especially not in the company of three boys. Naruto and Kabuto followed after them, none of the four speaking another word to each other.

That night, Sasuke laid in bed thinking about what he'd learned. His own brother, how could he have done something like that? _Probably drunk_, he thought to himself. His brother had always had a problem with alcohol, since before he was even legal. Either way, it didn't excuse his behavior. Sasuke just couldn't believe that it was _Sakura_ that had been the unlucky one.

But, Sasuke could see why he would target Sakura. She was, after all, extremely beautiful, and probably a virgin at that time. Her soft pink hair, emerald green eyes, slender form, and yet, the way she held herself...it would clearly have made her a target. If it hadn't been Itachi, it would have been someone else. That thought gave Sasuke no comfort.

As he laid there, thinking, he remembered something from four years ago. He remembered more clearly now who had said those words that had been on his mind this whole time.

_He'd come home from school to find his brother to be the only one at the house. He was abnormally talkative, and seemed full of himself as he lounged out on the couch, flipping channels on the TV. He turned it off as Sasuke came into the living room._

"_So bro, how was your day?" he asked in his smooth voice._

"_Good, since it was the last day of school before summer vacation..." Sasuke muttered as if it should have been obvious._

"_Cool," Itachi replied as he stared off into space thoughtfully._

"_You?" Sasuke asked, trying to be nice._

"_Alright I guess. I know _he_ had a much better day than me though," Itachi said, his voice trailing off. He wanted Sasuke to question him._

_Sighing, Sasuke gave in, his curiosity peaked. "Who?" he asked._

"_Huh? Oh, just a friend of mine. Yea, he had sex with this hot chick this morning."_

"_Uh-huh. One of your loser friends did this?"_

"_Yea, he was on his way back from a party in Konoha and he met this girl. She was so _easy_._"

Sasuke stared at his brother suspiciously.

"_What? I'm just telling you what _he_ told me...a pretty little slut, too bad he got to her first."_

"_Seriously, Itachi? Okay, what did she look like then? I think you just had a wet dream while you were sleeping your day away," Sasuke said with a smirk._

"_It was not a wet dream! My friend had sex with a pretty girl. She was slender and had gorgeous green eyes...or, so he told me," Itachi responded, still staring into space._

"_What about her hair?" Sasuke asked._

"_Huh? Oh, long. Her hair was long," Itachi responded, jumping at the mention of hair._

"_No, you idiot! I meant, what color was her hair?" Sasuke asked, knowing that his brother was avoiding this question._

"_I don't remember. I've had a few drinks since he told me about it," Itachi said. It was clearly a lie, but Sasuke pretended to buy it._

"_Mom's going to be mad," he said, knowing that he sounded childish._

Sasuke frowned as he remembered that day. His brother had gone to a party in Konoha the night before and he'd gotten home early in the morning. That night, he'd raped Sakura. Why wouldn't he say her hair color? Because then it would be obvious if Sasuke ever met the girl that it was her. After all, how many people in the world have natural pink hair?

Sasuke closed his eyes once more and vowed to himself that tomorrow he would tell Sakura how he really felt about her. He had no more ties to anyone else so she couldn't hide from him with that excuse again. Tomorrow, he would know for sure how Sakura felt about him.

-End-

**A/N: Yes I know the ending sucked but I started this chapter last week and then I kind of left it. Anyways I'm in class now so it will be taking a while for me to update so please, please, PLEASE review every chapter. I want to hear from my readers and your reviews are what make me keep writing this story instead of finishing some of my older ones.**


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